


Reversal, of Sorts

by zenelly



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-27
Updated: 2011-06-27
Packaged: 2017-10-20 19:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/216104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenelly/pseuds/zenelly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It isn’t that they don’t fight a lot, because they do.  They argue, they annoy each other, they pick on each other, but…. But it is all worth it, because it is Joshua.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Reversal, of Sorts

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by croix_souillees' offhand remark about Joshua and Neku that _"in reverse, it's obvious to each other how much they like each other but the others Just Won't Get It"_. I could NOT get that out of my head, so here we are!

Neku rubs harshly at his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. He expected the difficulties of doing this. Hell, he was _warned_ about the difficulties of doing this (mind you, it was from a completely uninterested and giggly party who absolutely _refused_ to help him, the bastard), but he did not expect it to be quite this difficult.

“But… but you don’t even _like_ him!”

Even though the problems with it aren’t… quite what he was expecting.

Putting his hand down, Neku sighs and attempts (again) to explain himself. “Actually, Shiki. I do. I uh, I wouldn’t be dating him if I didn’t at least like him.”

Shiki stares. And stares. And just keeps staring, the crease between her furrowed brows getting deeper by the moment until she is tipping forwards, close to Neku, too close to Neku, her face hovering a bare few inches away from his. “…but _how?_ ” she exclaims, leaning back with a sudden rush of air, arms planted on her hips. “You two do nothing but fight!”

“Thaaat’s not necessarily true,” Neku mumbles, toying with his bangs absently as he tries to think of a way to describe his new(ish) relationship. It isn’t that they _don’t_ fight a lot, because they do. They argue, they annoy each other, they pick on each other, but…. But it is all worth it, because it is _Joshua_ , and Joshua just understands him, just like he understands Joshua. “We… do things other than fight.”

Wrinkling her nose, Shiki sniffs delicately. “I don’t need to hear about your sex life.”

Neku sputters. “What? N-No! I wasn’t talking abou- rrrrgh, Shiki! Put down the phone and actually listen to me!”

Shiki examines her nails as she waits for whatever call she’s making to connect, and Neku shoves his hands deep in his pockets, dropping his chin beneath the cowl of his shirt to glower. Damn it, why did he think this would be a good idea?

 _“I told you it wouldn’t work,”_ an ephemeral voice, mocking laughter evident in its tones, echoes down, and Neku’s scowl changes to a pout even as his heart beats a little faster. He can almost feel the sardonic, biting smile the Composer has right now. _“But nooo, you have to tell your_ friends, _never mind what I say because Neku’s always right. We’ll ignore the fact that I’m the Composer of Shibuya, right, partner?”_

Neku rolls his eyes as he shakes his head, a smile now quirking about the corners of his mouth. “Shaddup, Josh,” he mutters, knowing the other can hear him. “They’re my friends too, and I wanted them to know.”

“Beat? Yeah, this is Shiki. … Listen, I have something… No, no, just… Ugh, Beat. Beat. Beat! Pay attention! …No, that’s not-” Shiki sighs irately at the phone and taps her foot, waiting a few seconds (probably for Beat to slow down talking long enough for a pause) to say, “Neku and Joshua are dating.”

A moment of silence.

(Neku can hear the confused screaming from where he’s standing a few feet away.)

Shiki seems to understand it, though she holds the phone at arm’s length and waits for Beat to calm down before she answers. “I know, I don’t get it either! But he says it’s true! … Yeah, I know, right? They hate each other!”

 _“And we have such fantastic sex, full of hate and rage and-”_

“Joshua.”

Neku sighs at Joshua’s answering giggle to his stern voice, fiddling with his bangs once more. There is a flicker of white in the corners of his eyes and Joshua steps into his view from nowhere, a sly grin fully in place across his lips, smugness evident even in the cant of his hips as he stands. The silver-haired Composer places a delicate finger on his lips (yeah, like Neku’s really going to say something _now_ ) and saunters directly behind Shiki, leaning in to place his mouth only a few inches from her ear.

Drawling out, “Well, well, my dear Shiki, making assumptions about other people isn’t a very _pretty_ thing to do, is it?” gets the girl to scream and jump at least a few inches into the air, and Neku has to cover his laugh with a cough.

“J-J-J-J-Joshua! Wh-When did yo- yes, Beat, Joshua’s here. No, I have no clue! He just showed up!” Shiki holds up one hand to Joshua, rolling her eyes at her phone. “Look, if you want to talk to them, come _here!_ We’re at Hachiko, duh. Right, see you soon.” She clicks her phone shut and immediately whirls on Joshua, eyes blazing. “Now, Joshua! This is a really cruel joke you’re playing here! It’s not fair of you to trick Neku into a relationship like this when everyone knows you don’t even like him!”

Joshua raises an eyebrow, smiling ever wider. “My, my, you really aren’t in possession of all the facts, are you?” He shrugs delicately as he spreads his hands wide. “If you must know, Neku’s the one who made the first move.”

“No way.”

“Ask him yourself, if you’re that curious,” Joshua challenges, giggling softly.

Neku, who was more than content to just watch this unfold in front of him, finds himself pinned with two sets of eyes, one amused and the other disbelieving. He sighs a little, but steps forward, hands deep in his pockets. Once he’s standing next to Joshua, he shoves the little brat with his shoulder, but meets Shiki’s eyes and says, “He’s not lying.”

(Shiki’s jaw drops and Neku would be lying if he says he doesn’t garner some measure of satisfaction from that.)

“B-but…”

Neku rolls his eyes and huffs out a short breath. “Look, we may not always… get along,” he slants a sideways stare at Joshua who only grins widely without meeting his eyes, “but we do care about each other. He gets me, you know? I couldn’t just pass that up. We mean too much to each other, and I mean, he changed my entire life. I owe him everything I am.”

 _"In bed."  
_  
“Oh god damn it, Josh, did you _really_ have to do that?” Neku snaps as Joshua breaks out into peals and peals of laughter. Shiki stares between them, confused (because of course _she_ didn't hear Josh's voice), as Neku punches the slender Composer in the arm, scowling through his blush.

Joshua keeps laughing and coos, “You’re still my spicy tuna roll, sweetums. Don’t worry.”

“I still have no idea what that means, you brat.”

As they start bickering again, Shiki waves her hand high in the air, apparently spotting someone, and a few seconds later Neku can see the forms of Beat and Rhyme weaving through the crowd. Beat huffs slightly once he reaches them and kicks his ever-present skateboard.

“Now, whass’is about Phones likin’ this jerk?”

Irritated, Neku throws his hands up in the air and turns to walk away. “No. Absolutely not, I refuse to do this again.”

He starts in surprise when Joshua lays a sympathetic hand on his arm and blinks into Joshua’s surprisingly serious cool gray eyes. A faint smile still plays in the corners of the Composer’s mouth, but his tone is serious and kind when he asks, “Do you want me to explain this time, love?”

Smiling back (and his shoulders relax imperceptibly because _this_ is what he means when he says that Josh _gets_ him), Neku nods.

“Alright.” Joshua rubs Neku’s arm in a reassuring way before he whips around to face Beat, smile stretching wide and long across his face. Alarm bells begin sounding in Neku’s head. “What he means to say is that he likes it _a lot_ when I fuck him up th-”

“JOSHUA!!”

And Joshua starts laughing again, hands up in a protesting manner as Neku starts chasing him around the statue of Hachiko, smile quick and biting and _lovely._ For a moment, Neku just memorizes his face and smile, but in a few seconds he swears because he let himself get distracted and now Joshua is leaning into him, slender body pressing him into a nearby wall. Neku opens himself up to Joshua’s kiss, smiling into it.

It is so obvious how much they like each other, and Neku finally gives up on making anyone else understand. (Somewhere in the back of his mind, Joshua giggles and makes a few more perverted remarks and Neku smacks him, and it all starts over again.)


End file.
